


Already A Beast, Baby

by Thetolwrites



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mates, Soulmates, Werewolf Billy Hargrove, Werewolf Mates, Witch Curses, Witch Steve Harrington
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:00:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29958561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thetolwrites/pseuds/Thetolwrites
Summary: Steve Harrington was a witch. A young, powerful witch. He had everything he'd ever wanted, except for one thing... and it was something he could never have because his family had been cursed.Billy Hargrove was a dick. A handsome, powerful dick. He had a thirst for power and a fire burning bright inside of his soul. He had no problem starting fights and finishing them, but he had a secret. Billy had been cursed.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 14
Kudos: 50





	1. Wands and Witches

Steve was different. He wasn’t just saying that either. Everyone wants to feel special, but Steve actually _was_. Steve was one of the lucky ones, blessed with powerful magic that had passed down throughout his family’s bloodline. His mother had been unlucky, and the power had skipped her. Somehow Steve believed it made him more powerful, He could hardly control his magic when it appeared. 

He still remembered that day. He was eight years old. He’d woken up to everything in his room floating. It _terrified_ him. He screamed until his mother burst into his room. They had to call his grandmother to come to help him down. His parents had never really wanted to _be_ parents. His mother resented him and his father never had time for him, So when Steve’s grandmother offered to let Steve move in with her to help him control his magic, his mother jumped at the chance. That very day Steve’s belongings got shoved into his grandmother’s car. He left Seattle behind for a tiny town in Indiana called Hawkins. 

He had never felt so at home until he’d walked into his grandmother’s house. Steve’s grandmother, Mary Dubois, was a kind, eclectic woman. Steve went from receiving no attention, stuck in an apartment alone, going to school with no friends or family to living with a woman who treated him like he was her entire world. They did everything together. Steve had no shame in calling his grandmother his best friend. 

Steve began spell work right away, learning to harness his power and control it as much as he could. Through the years, Steve gained control over his magic and his spell work became more difficult. Steve learned as much as he could about all the magic embedded in him and surrounding him. Hawkins held many secrets if you knew where to look and had your own magic as a key. 

When Steve was 12 years old, he learned another earth-shattering fact about himself. He was sitting with his grandmother in their living room, reading out of the oldest book of shadows they owned. She sighed and turned away from her work to look Steve in the eye. “Steven. I believe it’s high time I tell you about the curse that was placed on our family. I know you’re at that age… looking at falling in love with girls and boys, but I… I have to warn you.” Steve sat up straight, making sure the old tomb had his bookmark in it before he shut it and gave his grandmother his rapt attention. “What is it, grams?” 

She sighs again and takes Steve’s hands as she sits down beside him. She tells him a story of his ancestor, a powerful man who, in his quest for power, had their bloodline cursed. He had tricked a witch for her power but, the witch, in her last act of power, had cursed their family to never fall in love or it would change their partners into beasts. If anyone fell in love with Steve, it would transform them into a creature that was only half-man. 

Steve was in awe, unable to hold back his grin as he watches his grandmother. “Oh. My. God. That’s awesome! I can’t wait to fall in love!” Mary had rolled her eyes and laughed, ruffling his hair. “You’re ridiculous, Steven. I was trying to _warn_ you. I thought it might _scare_ you.” Steve shakes his head. “No way! Is that what happened to grandpa?” Mary smiles and nods as she looks out the window, Steven’s grandfather had passed away when he was two years old. “Yes. Charlie was… transformed after we fell in love. He never complained. He just accepted it as his destiny. I guess even werewolves can get cancer.” She let out a heavy sigh. Steve frowns and hugs his grandmother tightly. Maybe… he’d hold off on falling in love for a while. 

Years later, this is how he found out that Nancy truly didn’t love him. He knew she didn’t love him long before they started fighting or she cheated on him. Steve knew she didn’t love him, but… It still hurt. It hurt like hell when she left him for Jonathan Byers without so much as an apology. 

Steve felt fucking miserable. His magic reflected it too. His spells were weak, and he felt frustrated and stifled by his depression. He cries out in anger as he messes up his enchantment for the sixth time in a row. He growls, breaking the sticks in half as he throws them outside and into the grass, watching as they dissolve into ash. 

Mary tsks from her spot on the back porch, rocking with a glass of sweet tea, watching her grandson fuming. “Honey, take a break. Goodness.” Steve growls, turning to her and groaning. “Why do I still feel like this?! I knew she didn’t love me! Why do I care so much?!” He cries out. Mary sighs and continues to rock. “Love is rational, honey. This feeling will pass with time. Here. This will help you get this off your mind. Go out to the field and gather some baby’s breath, lavender, and lilac for me. Some fresh air and a walk in the woods will relieve some of this tension.” 

Steve grumbles but obeys, taking one of their wicker baskets and heading out into the woods. Steve had spent hours on warm spring and summer days memorizing every single footfall of the forest. He knew every trail, every type of animal (Magic or non), and every plant that grew in the woods around Hawkins. The particular field of flowers his grandmother was referring to was a field of flowers. 

It wasn’t just _any_ field of flowers, though. Magic flowed freely in the air surrounding it, and the flowers grew to resemble it. Vastly different flowers grew side by side and thrived. They grew tall and wild, almost reaching Steve’s waist. The field was far off into the woods. It was a random clearing amongst the trees. Few could enter the field, and it allowed even less to find it. 

The magic of the Hawkins forest had its ways of turning people around and around in circles until they ended back up where they started. If the trees didn’t want you to find something… You wouldn’t. Steve hadn’t had any trouble with the trees since he was young. He was certain of himself as he stepped along his trails. Today, however, was the first time in years he ended up lost. He groans out loud, staring up at the sky. “Oh, come on! I just need to get to the field, please! What are you trying to show me? I’m too tired for this.” He grumbles, trying to get back to his trail or a piece of land he recognized. 

It felt like hours before he was back on the path toward the field. He sighed grumbling and making annoyed noises, huffily saying to the air. “Thank you. Why was it so damn hard to let me in here, today?” He rolled his eyes, stepping into the clearing and walking among the flowers. He kneeled to gather some lavender bulbs, pushing some of his magic into the stem to help it regrow quickly. “Thank you for letting me take some of these.” He breathes to the plants, treating them gently, thanking each plant he took from, and pushing his own magic into the earth as his gratitude.

He was almost finished picking the flowers when he saw him. The biggest wolf he’d ever seen walked into the clearing. The two lock eyes and Steve lets out a gasp as he takes him in. He was beautiful, huge, and slightly terrifying, but beautiful. He had to be at least four feet tall, covered head to toe in this gorgeous black and white fur, and built with so much muscle mass he must have weighed over two hundred pounds. Despite all of this, the most stunning aspect of this beast was his eyes. A brilliant, shining blue that took Steve’s breath away. 

Steve smiles softly, in complete awe as the wolf takes another step toward him. Steve didn’t feel threatened, just astonished a creature this beautiful actually existed. Steve stayed where he was as the canine approached him. He sat still as the beast sniffed and nudged him. The wolf deemed him safe and rubbed himself into Steve. Almost knocking him over as Steve laughs and reaches out, rubbing his fingers through soft fur. 

The two spent a long while sitting with each other, just enjoying the quiet and the sunshine. Steve spent the time meditating and petting his newfound friend. Eventually, the wolf’s ears perked up, and he lifted his head, growling into the distance. The magnificent wolf stood once again, stretching himself out with a yawn before he turned back to Steve. Steve smiles, putting both of his hands on the sides of his gigantic head. “Time to go, huh? Yeah. I should probably get back soon too. It was really nice meeting you.” He laughs as the wolf licks all over his face, his tail wagging happily before he pulls away and sprints off into the woods. 

Steve let out a deep calming breath before gathering up his flowers and starting the walk home. It was sundown by the time he walked up to the back porch and inside. Mary smiles at him as he enters the house. “Hey! You feel better?” Steve nods, thinking about the hound. “Yeah. I really do.” Mary grins and nudges him teasingly. “I told you so! Come on, help me with dinner!” 

—

The next day when Steve arrived at Hawkins High, the entire school was buzzing with the announcement of a new student. Steve was mildly curious, but he wouldn’t go out of his way to find out more. 

He didn’t have to. 

The new kid had a locker right beside him. Steve felt his face flush when he saw him for the first time. Billy Hargrove was all muscle and tanned skin. He wore a leather jacket, a tight black tee, and even tighter jeans. He had ocean blue eyes, sandy, blonde curls, and sparkly white teeth that he loved to flash every time he got a chance with cocky smirks or by biting his bottom lip. Steve almost wanted to bolt when Billy approached him for the first time. “Hey there, locker neighbor. Name’s Billy Hargrove.” 

Steve nods dumbly for a moment before he remembers that Oh! Yeah! A name! He had one of those. “Um, I’m Steve. Steve Harrington. It’s um… It’s nice to meet you.” Billy smiles, giving him a wink as he gets his locker open. “Oh, the pleasures all mine, princess~” Steve felt like he blew a gasket. He knew his face must be bright red by the heat he felt fill his cheeks. He couldn’t tell if Billy was flirting with him or trying to make fun of him. He was trying to stutter out a reply, when Billy turns back to him, licking his lips before leaning in. “You think you could show me to my class, Stevie? Kinda lost around here.” 

Steve nods, finally deciding that Billy was actually flirting with him. “Y-Yeah, no problem! Here. Um.” Billy hands over his schedule with a smirk. “Okay um yeah it’s just this way.” Steve walked toward Billy’s first class, stopping suddenly in surprise as Billy put his arm over his shoulder. “Lead on, princess~” He responds playfully, smirking at Steve as his face turned another shade of red and he kept walking, held tight to Billy’s side. When they arrived at the door to his class, Steve turned away a little. “This is the one. Uh… I hope you have a good first day.” 

Billy leans in with a wink. “Oh trust me, princess. I already have.” He walked into his classroom without another word, leaving a red-faced and stuttering Steve behind. 


	2. Fangs and Fur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Hawkins, Billy Hargrove.

Hawkins, Indiana felt like Billy’s worst nightmare at first. He was the only wolf in his family. The only wolf he knew of, to be honest, and he’d gotten ripped away from his pack in California. The only family he had left, but Neil had decided it was time to leave. He’d said that Billy couldn’t question him because Neil ‘knew what was best.’ 

Billy had been getting stronger with his age. They both knew it. 

Billy was strong, angry, unpredictable... The power Neil had over him was slipping, and he couldn’t handle it. Neil hated him, hated the way Billy had unlimited strength and potential, so he tried to beat it out of him. Neil may have been weaker than Billy, but it still hurt. His broken bones may mend quicker, but it still hurt. His bruises may become lighter in hours instead of days, cuts might stitch together overnight but… it still hurt. 

He’d started when Billy was just a kid. He was six years old when his father beat him for the first time. He was angry, jealous that Billy was showing signs he’d inherited his mother’s strength. He’d never seen his mom angry like that before. The term mama bear is one she took to heart. She nearly tore Neil’s head off that day, threatened to divorce him, and take Billy away if he so much as looked at him wrong ever again. 

Billy adored his mother. He was sure that no one in the world would ever understand him as his mother did. She was his best friend, and he had no shame in calling her that. Billy was eight when his mom told him about where he got his strength from. She called it a blessing, told Billy a story of his sixteenth great-grandpa who devoted his life to a god of a Norse legend. 

Billy was in awe as he sat and listened to his mother’s words. Skaði had given his family a power very few others on Earth could possess. He looked up at her, his eyes shining in glee as he declares vehemently. “I’m going to devote myself to Skaði too! Then I’ll be super powerful forever!” His mother had smiled proudly, ruffling his hair and kissing his head. “I know you will be baby.” 

He wasn’t much older when his mother told him about mates. It was just another advantage Billy had over normal people. He could sense his soulmate. He wouldn’t have to play a guessing game for his entire life or waste time on people. Their scent would be different. Everything about them would just be different. “But how will I _know_ , mom?” Billy had tried to ask, huffing as she just smiles at him and shrugs. “You will, my little Wolfie. You just _will_.” 

He learned as much as he could from his mom, learned about setting up altars, giving offerings, meditating, connecting to his inner wolf. Billy learned about the importance of sigils and protection charms. His mother’s necklace was a strong charm that had been passed down from parent to child for as long as the wolves had been in their bloodline. It was a beautiful piece, a hand-carved wooden wolf’s head and a large crystal carved with sigils both sat on a gold chain. Billy loved it and he could hardly wait until the day it was his own. 

His devotion to learning must have pleased Skaði because by the time Billy was eleven his wolf had outgrown his mother's and only continued to explode in size. 

Neil actually was a decent dad there for a while… They weren’t the most wealthy or even the happiest family in the world, but they were okay… Life was okay… 

Then his mom got sick… She left both Billy and Neil one night without warning. The undiagnosed illness had traveled to her heart and killed her in her sleep. She left Billy at twelve-years-old with her necklace and a gaping hole in his heart. 

Susan and Max came into Billy’s life barely a year later. It made him wonder about an affair, but he knew better than to ask Neil that. They stayed in Cali until people got worried about wolves appearing and Neil couldn’t hold a job longer than a few weeks. 

When he told Billy that they were moving, he had the _audacity_ to act like it was a good thing, like Billy should be _happy_. Billy felt like his life was over. He was so angry that he spent two days sulking in his room. Then a fight with Neil had him fleeing his house and running through the woods. Something in the air changed the moment he shifted, and something in Billy changed in response. Billy’s wolf had only ever been on mountainous cliffs sides and abandoned beaches. Running through the woods was something else entirely, and Billy quickly changed his mind about Hawkins.

The woods called to him like an old friend. He felt like he finally _belonged_ somewhere, out there among the trees and winding forest trails. He spent more and more nights under the stars and far away from Neil’s grasp. He spent more time shifted, running like he was _born_ to and chasing the game for the fun of it. He wasn’t very skilled in catching his prey yet, but it was coming to him with practice. He’d never felt so in tune with himself… the wolf inside him had stopped pacing. He felt like he was home for the first time since his mom had died. 

It was a night the first time Billy saw Steve. He was laying naked under the stars, staring up at the beautiful, shimmering lights as the cool earth below him soothed and grounded him. He’d had another fight with Neil that morning. His black eye was still sore, but it had mostly healed. The anger had finally left him and now he just felt exhausted. He let out a deep, rumbling sigh. He was inhaling when he smelled it for the first time. 

He couldn’t describe it… It was just different. Sweet, earthy, intriguing. Billy got up, stumbling toward the scent, almost in a daze. He didn’t have to walk far to find the source. It was an older-looking home. Ivy grew along the outside of the walls and the windows were lit up with light. It surprised Billy to find out anyone would live this far out in the woods. The house and the land beyond contained so many plants, hundreds of different vegetations grew in pots, raised garden beds, or wild around the property. Something in the air was different here. Billy couldn’t put his finger on it, but the smell was so strong here that he could taste it, and… his mouth was watering. 

As Billy surveyed the property, his breath caught in his throat as his eyes fell upon the most beautiful boy he’d ever seen. He was humming into the night air, sweet voice drifting across space between them and into Billy’s ears. He held a mortar and pestle, grinding something into a powder as he swayed gently back and forth on a porch swing. Someone called for him inside of the house. “Steven! Come in, dear! You can finish your spell in the morning!” 

Steve placed the mixture down on a nearby table, stretching as he stood and called back into the building. “Yes ma’am! Coming!” He suddenly paused as he reached the back door. He turns, looking out into the woods and the darkness. His eyes seem to freeze on Billy where he stood behind a tree and Billy’s heart practically stopped, thinking that he could see him for a terrifying second until Steve just shrugged and entered the house. 

Billy growls in pleasure. A loud rumbling sound came from deep within his chest. He couldn’t help it. The conversation of his youth coming back to him. “‘ _But how will I_ ** _know_** _, mom?’ ‘ You will, my little Wolfie. You just_ ** _will_** _._ ’” His mother was right again. She always was. Billy howled that night from the top of his lungs, unable to stop himself from telling the entire world about his excitement. 

—

The day that Billy met Steve, face to fur, it’d been a complete accident. He’d been wandering the woods, avoiding his father’s rage yet again. As Neil had thrown him out of the house for just… existing in his father’s presence, really. He hadn’t really been paying attention to his surroundings. He hardly even noticed he’d stepped into the clearing until his mate’s scent hit him like a train. He looks up just in time to lock eyes with Steve. He watches Steve gasp and Billy feels himself tense up, desperately wanting Steve to stay and not to be afraid. 

Seconds pass like hours, and Billy notices that Steve wasn’t making any movement to flee. He was just watching Billy, taking him in. Billy couldn’t help but puff his chest out in pride as he stands before his mate and lets him take his wolf all in. Billy moves slowly, walking to Steve one step at a time as to not come across as threatening. Steve just sits patiently, waits for billy to come over to him, lets Billy bury his nose into him, and inhales his scent. His scent was the same earthy sweetness it was the other night, but it filled Billy with warmth and made his heart beat faster. Steve was _happy_. 

Billy lets out a small grumble of content joy as he nudges him a few times and finally rubs himself all along Steve to get some of his wonderful scent onto himself. Steve’s laugh is the prettiest music to Billy’s sensitive ears. He feels his fingers rubbing themselves through his thick fur and Billy swore he must’ve died and gone to heaven. They relax into companionable silence, enjoying the moment to just sit and listen to the forest surrounding them. 

Billy feels his ears prick up as miles away he hears his father’s enraged voice calling for him. He allows himself to pin his ears back and growl in response before he stands and stretches. He turns to Steve, a feeling of sadness filling his chest as he knows he has to go. Steve looks breathtakingly beautiful as he smiles and takes Billy’s head into his hands. “Time to go, huh? Yeah. I should probably get back soon too. It was really nice meeting you.” 

Bily couldn’t help himself, his tail wags aggressively as he covers his mate in as many kisses as he could just to hear the way Steve’s laugh rings out among the trees. When he finally couldn’t wait any longer, he pulls away and darts back toward his father’s house. A house he could never call home. 

—

Hawkins high was, somehow, worse than every single high school movie Billy had ever seen. Don’t get him wrong, Billy adores attention. He doesn’t mind being the talk of the town or getting swooning girls and not-so-subtle guys checking him out. He enjoys the thrill of it all, but Billy wasn’t interested. He didn’t want to play into his normal macho, bad boy facade. He didn’t want to pretend to date chicks or fuck guys he has no interest in other than for sexual favors. 

No, Billy had his sights on something different this time around.

He smelled Steve that morning before he saw him. The scent wafting through the hall had Billy’s heart beating faster and a grin spreading across his face. He counted every single lucky star he had as he found that Steve had the locker right beside his. “Hey there, locker neighbor. Name’s Billy Hargrove.”

Steve was cute… Really cute. He was nodding, looking up a Billy for a moment, before remembering to introduce himself. “Um, I’m Steve. Steve Harrington. It’s um… It’s nice to meet you.” Billy wanted to kiss him just to see what shade of red his pretty cheeks would turn. He gives him a wink and a smile just to see the pink flood his freckles features. He couldn’t kiss him yet, but he could tease him a little. “Oh, the pleasures all mine, princess~”

The way Steve’s face glowed a bright, beautiful crimson had Billy licking his lips and leaning in. “You think you could show me to my class, Stevie? Kinda lost around here.” He could smell the subtle excitement filling Steve’s scent as he gives Billy a hesitant nod. Billy hands him his schedule, shuttering slightly as their fingers brush. “Okay um, yeah it’s just this way.” Steve had turned away from Billy, leading him off down the hall. Billy couldn’t resist the urge to pull Steve closer, scent him as much as he could. Steve paused when Billy’s arm wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him into his side securely. 

Billy’s wolf growls in satisfaction at his mate being so near. “Lead on, princess~” He rumbles out, grinning as Steve’s face turns an even brighter shade of scarlet. Steve wishes Billy a good first day as they arrive at his first class of the day. Billy couldn’t help but lean in, winking as he looks into his mate’s beautiful, brown, doe eyes.“Oh, trust me, princess. I already have.”


End file.
